


Serein

by Arlzureinne_Karale



Category: End Roll (Video Game), 殺戮の天使 | Satsuriku no Tenshi (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Gen, Light Angst, Mentions of Suicidal Attempt, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-15 00:35:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9211937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arlzureinne_Karale/pseuds/Arlzureinne_Karale
Summary: Beyond the world serenity, their sins still dripped faintly.





	

**Author's Note:**

> End Roll belongs to Segawa, while Satsuriku no Tenshi belongs to Hoshikuzu KRNKRN.

He first met her in the hospital’s hallway.

She was on a wheelchair with a gentle-looking nurse, and he heard vague whispers about her. About the girl with sand-colored hair instead of sunshine-colored like his. About emotionless blue eyes. About what got her admitted to the hospital in the first place.

They almost resembled each other, he concluded.

But of course, the voice in the back of his head laughed. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on his heartbeat—one, two, three, four, five; he almost could heard one of his guardian counting with him. But the voice continued, and for a second, he saw so many black flowers.

How dare you compared yourself with someone?

The black flowers dragged themselves closer, swaying swaying swaying _and swaying_ with endlessly echoing, humiliating laugh. He, the boy with bandage wrapped around his neck, has sins drenched his hands, after all.

“How are you today?”

He snapped from his reverie, the black yama-basho around him immediately stilled and vanished one by one. Eyes the color of deepest ocean shifted, a male nurse greeted him with a kind smile, and for a second, he saw a dark-haired young man with green coat.

“... I’m fine.”

The flowers laughed.

 

* * *

Today, too, Russell saw her again in the hallway when the nurse let him took a stroll around the hospital as one of his daily routines. A habit Russell unknowingly picked up after a certain imaginary doctor told the dreamer why he likes stroll so much.

That girl did not use her wheelchair and instead slowly walking in a straight line, lightly leaned on the wall, as if only testing her ability to walk again.

They honestly resembled each other. Russell wondered what will be Raymond Costa’s reaction when the older male see her in one of his regular visit. Or maybe the Dreamsend Trader already saw her once?

Almost the same shades of blonde hair, blue eyes, empty expression. Pale skin, sleep-deprived gaze, thin visage. Bandage wrapped around and around _and around_ fragile body.

That splitting image of his—the boy with green eyes hummed; did she craved death too?

Russell never talk to her. He did not even know her name. Only the fact she was here because of an almost fatal wound. This hospital was indeed big—one of the best hospital in the country, but words always travels faster than wind.

She turned suddenly, and Russell ran when she lost her footing.

The two of them fell to the cold floor with a loud thud, and Russell could feel all of his breath knocked out from his lungs in one short blow. His head pounded, his entire universe trembled, everything was a mess in his quivering gaze until he finally could grasp reality again.

The girl sat in his side, blue eyes glistened with worry, yet her expression remained cold.

“I’m sorry, are you alright?”

Ah, Russell paused, her voice completely different from Gardenia Reitman’s. And here he thought all girls in his age talk with passion like Gardenia or even Cody Toscarina. Yet there was something Russell did not really like from the sand-haired girl’s voice. A something that he did not even know.

Russell grunted when he tried to sit. The world around him shook violently.

“... yes, it’s okay,” his voice was soft. And beyond the ringing in his ears, the sunshine-haired boy almost could heard Kantera’s pleasant laugh about Russell being too careless.

But the girl did not bought it at all, “Shall I call the nurse for you?”

Oh, anything but that. Russell gripped his head with two hands, desperately tried to still his trembling consciousness, “... it will pass ... no need,” but honestly, he just did not want the nurse to know, because he would most likely be banned from strolling around for three days.

“... are you sure?” she was not.

Russell slowly nodded, fingers gently patted his bandaged neck to make sure the wound did not opened. Eyes the same shades as the dreamer’s followed his movement, but instead of asking questions like those of overly curious strangers, she teared her gaze immediately.

And Russell was thankful.

“Can you stand ...?” when he finally regained his world, Russell asked. The boy slowly stood and patted his clothes, in case imaginary dust stuck to his clothes.

The girl nodded and stood, “Thank you.”

The two of them did not wave when they continue along their own path.

Russell did not say anything—he refused to say anything, not even a word about how when the blue-eyed girl lost her footing, Russell saw Gardenia’s back tilted to the front, gravity pulled her to fell; she was a milisecond away from her own death.

And yet, Russell only watched.

 

* * *

Walter Bartley was the one who will visit Russell today, it was not like him to be late.

Since Russell’s attempt to kill himself after he woke up, the people that responsible for Happy Dream experiment managed to stop his attempt and brought him here along with rehabilitation purpose. For the first weeks Russell here, they always placed nurses and doctors in his room, they also hid slight dangerous things like needles and scissors from him.

But the Dreamsend members paid no heed to the all voiceless warnings, they always visited despite their busy schedule to make sure Russell was alright.

Fairia pay a visit whenever she can with Yue, Raymond chose to visit in days when Fairia was not here, Walter was the only one with regular schedule; on Saturday or Wednesday, his weekly day off, Russell remembered Walter once said.

It was Wednesday afternoon, and Russell wondered if Walter has sudden addition of work or something. He was a researcher, after all. Walter was bound to be busy one way or another.

The brown-haired male nurse—the one with Kantera’s eyes and Tabasa’s smile—let Russell take a walk around for a while, loudly promised he will call Russell if Walter came to visit.

And so, the dreamer decided he would like to go outside.

Since the hospital was actually too big, they have their own park and even several sport fields. The park was especially built for the elderly patients, but Russell always liked the park. They have colorful flowers instead of the usual white flowers and the monochrome-colored kind.

Sometimes, if Russell was particularly lucky, he will saw someone familiar in his stroll. Someone whom he saw in the hallway once—it was not like he will talk to them, but still, it was almost reassuring for him to see someone he knew, even if only the slightest.

That girl was in the park today, along with some elderly people.

She sat on one of the bench alone, newspaper in hands. Her entire posture rigid and expression contorted into something that obviously not impressed.

Russell suppose politics was, indeed, never an amusing topic.

When the sunshine-haired boy passed by her from behind, blue eyes glanced to the side, a train of information immediately entered Russell’s head; about a young, black-haired serial killer who faced his final court session tomorrow.

That informant—the boy with green eyes chuckled; hey, you were supposed to face the same fate as him too, weren’t you, Russell? Aren’t you curious what would have happened to you?

Russell forcefully drowned the Informant to the back of his consciousness.

“You are already fine?”

The boy blinked, realization dawned upon him, as Russell unknowingly stopped right after he passed by the sitting girl. The said girl had the newspaper neatly folded on her lap, equal shade of blue eyes gazed without hesitation.

He nodded, for Russell did not trust his voice.

She, too, nodded.

The two of them did not exchanged another glance when they continued their own routine.

Russell did not said anything—he never say anything, not even a word about how when the sand-haired girl asked, Russell saw Mireille’s smiling visage, the last gentle smile before he forcefully pushed her from the rooftop; she was a moment away from her own death..

And yet, Russell only looked down.

 

* * *

“Russell, your guardian will pick you up today. I’ll call you when they arrived, okay?”

It was his last day in the hospital, and Russell honestly did not know if he should be happy

He was almost accustomed to the white ceiling, every nook of the wall, every cranny of the hallway. But the entire whiteness reminded him of a certain flowers, the smell of petrichor reminded him of a certain twilight-eyes doctor, the voices of passerby reminded him of a certain brown-haired pastor, the laugh of the nurses reminded him of a certain carefree policewoman—everything around Russell reminded him of his sins.

Blue eyes blankly stared beyond the windows in the hallway. The sky was clear, the park was still, and for a second, Russell saw eyeballs staring back at him from the nearest tree.

When Russell shifted his gaze, he found that girl again, not too far from him.

She looked beyond the windows too, but instead of blank look, her gaze almost longing.

The sand-haired girl turned, apparently sensing someone staring at her. Russell threw his gaze a second too late, and the girl nodded in acknowledgement, faintly decided to make a last conversation, “The male nurse said you will be out from hospital today, congratulations.”

It was supposed to be heartwarming, but her voice was void of emotion.

“... thank you. Aren’t you ... also discharged soon, though?” the word tasted strange on Russell’s tongue. He never expresses concern nor genuinely thank someone before, even Chris whom definitely needed to be restrained sometimes.

She shifted her gaze, “No ... I’m just moving to another rehabilitation place,” her voice soft.

“... oh,” end of the conversation.

That reflection of himself—the boy with green eyes mumbled; you sure resembled each other.

This time, Russell let the Informant came closer to the surface his thought.

“You know, we talked several times ...” she said, and Russell almost thought she would never ask, albeit with a roundabout way. Because she seemed like the type who likes to search the answers herself than asking straightforwardly.

And Russell vaguely remembered her, from countless passing newspaper and whispers.

“I’m Rachel Gardner.”

The girl who craved death with regret delicately braided around red thread.

“Russell ... Seager.”

The boy who craved death with guilt tightly strangling him until he bled.

And yet, from their fingers, sins dripped.

.

**Author's Note:**

> This oneshot is inspired by many fanarts on twitter, for people who thought about this crossover and for artists who drew it, thank you very much!
> 
> The urge to write this is seriously so high, and I just realized their name almost rhyme together. I don't ship them romantically, but I really like the prospect of Russell as oniichan despite their age gap is not that far. Halfway writing this, I just remembered both Russell and Rachel are an awkward little penguin, I'm sorry.
> 
> I was supposed to write Zack somewhere in the second segment, but I don't think he can escape twice easily, so yup!
> 
> As always, thanks to Freyyyy for putting up with my absurd nonsense, or my existence in general, really.
> 
> Sorry for any grammar mistakes, thank you for reading~!  
> -Azureinne K.


End file.
